The Ability of a Time Lord
by YouLookLikeFOOD
Summary: The Doctor knew nothing of these strange people, these people with abilities. And they knew nothing about him. Until one day, when Sylar wonders about the abilities of a certain Time Lord...
1. Meeting of Worlds

He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't do anything but run, and keep running, and running, and _running. _

Because there was a monster behind him.

The shadows closed in around him as he ran deeper and deeper, straight into the heart of the woods. He didn't have a plan. He didn't know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he had to keep running.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, forcibly whipped from his eyes by the wind. He squeezed his eyes shut.

And disappeared.

But the creature was still behind him as he ran, this time on a beach that he didn't recognize. Nor did he try and recognize it.

He closed his eyes again, but it was still coming, chasing him once more over mountains and cliffs.

And Hiro Nakamura dropped to the floor, tripping on something and stumbling, unable to carry on.

He closed his eyes again, one final, desperate time. But the monster was still there. It was still crashing towards him, now on the roof of this random building…

But no claws sliced into him. No horrible teeth came to end his life.

Hiro cracked one eye open, then sat up, hoping the monster was no longer there…

But it was no monster.

"Help me…" the man whispered through blood-soaked lips. He fell to his knees, a knife in his chest. "Please…"

And he fell to the ground.

* * *

Hiro chewed his lip nervously as he looked at the man. "He's going to be ok, right?"

Mohinder Suresh sighed deeply. "I really don't think I'm the man to ask that question, Hiro. You should have taken him to a hospital-"

But Hiro cut him off. "No! He's a hero! He followed me when I teleported!"

Mohinder sighed again. "Hiro, I'm just not capable of this sort of thing…"

"Please!" Hiro begged. "He's hurt! You have to do something!"

Mohinder looked at Hiro for a long time. He looked like someone had just kicked his puppy. Finally, he nodded. "Very well. I'll do what I can."

Hiro's face lit up in a smile, and he hugged Mohinder, much to his protests. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"No promises, though!" Mohinder tried to say. But Hiro was already gone, presumably to tell Ando, or bring him here, or whatever.

Mohinder sighed once more as he turned to look at the man, who was still breathing despite the wound in his chest. "All right. Let's see if we can fix this…"

* * *

Hiro was back an hour later, though to him it had only been a few seconds. Mohinder's face was ashen, and he had a large glass of some kind of alcoholic drink next to him.

Hiro's eyes widened in shock. "No! Mohinder, you have to be sober!" he started to shake Mohinder violently. "You have to help the Stabbed Man! You have to see if you can fix him!"

Mohinder looked at Hiro with a kind of shock in his eyes, as though he hadn't seen the teleporter arrive. He swallowed. "That?" His voice cracked as he talked, and he pointed one shaking finger at the man on the table. "That is no man, Hiro." He tilted the drink back down into his mouth. "I don't know what that is." He continued, his words slurring together slightly.

Hiro's face was so distressed that Ando (with a heavy sigh) took Mohinder's bottle and smashed it against the floor. Mohinder just looked at the glass shards with an apathetic expression on his face.

Hiro shook Mohinder again. "You have to help him!"

"I tried, Hiro!" Mohinder snapped. "But that… that is beyond my help."

"Why?" Hiro whimpered. "What's wrong with him?"

Mohinder laughed, a strange, gurgling laugh. "Everything!" He leaned forward and whispered, like he was telling a huge secret. "He's got _two hearts, _Hiro. _Two hearts._" He leaned back into his seat.

"No! You are just drunk!" Hiro shook Mohinder again, and Mohinder went with it this time, falling onto the floor with the remains of his drink. He looked at it blankly, as though he couldn't process the idea that he had fallen.

Hiro turned to Ando. He looked absolutely pathetic. "He's just drunk." He repeated mournfully.

Ando rolled his eyes. "Outta my way…" he said with a resigned look on his face.

His hands crackled with red lightning for a moment. The lightning flew from his fingers and into Mohinder, who jumped up instantly, looking startled but somehow better.

"Yay!" Hiro cried, leaping to his feet.

Mohinder looked around him, as though he couldn't remember where he was. Then he looked at the man on the table. His face fell, and he started to look sick.

"Ah, yes. You're impossible case." He held his stomach for a moment, and Hiro and Ando hurriedly backed away.

But, after a second, he was fine. "Yes. Well. Hiro, I don't know how to say this, but you're man's got two hearts."

Hiro's eyes popped. "You weren't drunk when you said that?" He gasped.

Mohinder shook his head gravely. "I tried to take a pulse. Then I listened in to his chest and…" Again, he clutched his stomach.

"But can you fix him?" Hiro demanded.

Mohinder looked at him, his eyes questioning Hiro's sanity. "Why would we want to? This man is a monster!"

"Wrong." A voice behind them suddenly said. "I believe that description belongs to me."

They all whirled around to see Sylar standing behind them. "Boo." The serial killer said.

Hiro placed a hand on Mohinder's and Ando's shoulder, teleporting away instantly.

But he'd left the other man on the table. Sylar smiled.

His plan had worked better than he'd thought it would.

Before Hiro could come back, Sylar took the strange man into his arms and flew away.

* * *

"Headache…" Donna muttered as she slowly got to her feet. She shook her head quickly, the winced as that made her head throb. "Ugh. Don't do that again." She told herself.

She looked around. There wasn't really much to say about the place, except that it was totally dark. She stared out into the pitch-black nothingness, trying desperately to see.

She held her hands out and used them to find out more about the room. It wasn't too large and had no furniture.

She felt around on the floor, then recoiled in horror as her hands met something wet and sticky.

Blood.

She kept feeling around, and found something that made her blood run cold.

A human body.

She leapt back, hitting her head against a door. She started banging against it. "Hey! Is anyone out there? There's a body in here! Please, help!" She tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "Please!"

But her screaming did nothing as the serial killer landed inside, coming in through the window, into a room outside of hers. He smiled as he heard her screams, but did nothing else.

Her voice would fade before he would ever care about her cries. Before he would ever care about anyone's cries.

* * *

The Doctor blinked slowly, then slightly faster, his eyes opening at last.

The room had dim lighting, and the object he was laying on felt suspiciously like a table. The smell of bleach was heavy in the air.

He looked at his chest, puzzled. "Wasn't there a knife here?" he questioned. "I'm sure there was a knife there."

He bit his lip thoughtfully. His shirt was completely ruined; it had a huge hole in it and was absolutely covered in blood. But there was no wound.

"Hmm…" he held up a hand, looking at it in the dim light. "Those seem familiar…"

He placed his hands on his face, his very familiar-feeling face with familiar eyes, cheeks, nose and lips.

"So. I haven't regenerated…" He looked around again. "So then what happened?"

"Regenerated?" A curious voice asked.

The Doctor jumped; he hadn't realized someone else was there.

The man chuckled. "It's an interesting term, really. A few of us use it, but not quite in the way I think you mean it."

The Doctor sat up, expecting to feel a great amount of pain as he did so. But no, he was fine. "Oh? Who's 'us'?"

The man's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand it." he muttered, beginning to pace. "You talk like one of us. You act like one of us. You seem to _be _one of us." His furious pacing had brought him right next to The Doctor's face. "But you _aren't._ You're completely _ignorant._" His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

The Doctor bristled. There was something about this man that he just didn't like. And he liked everyone. "Ignorant?" He asked indignantly. "I'll have you know, I've lived a lot longer than you have, seen a lot more, done a lot more …"

The man glared at him, and for once, the Doctor found himself shutting up. But it didn't seem by his own will. The Doctor tried, and suddenly found that his lips _couldn't _move.

"You talk too much." The man said.

The Doctor crossed his arms.

But the man ignored him. "So what _are _you?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, gesturing to his lips, which felt glued together.

The man rolled his eyes, but the pressure was released.

The Doctor glared at him. "Why should I tell you?" He demanded. "And where's Donna?"

He had no idea if this man knew where Donna was, but he asked anyway.

But he ignored the last part of the Doctor's question. "Because if you don't tell me, I'll rip open your head and find out for myself."

The Doctor swallowed, but tried to stay focused on what mattered. He stepped up right in front of the man, his eyes blazing. "Where's Donna?" he asked again.

The man sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this. Oh, wait. That's a lie; I _really _want to do this."

The Doctor heard someone scream. He knew instantly who it was. "Stop it!" He roared.

The man glared at The Doctor. "If you don't tell me what I want to know, then I'll rip open _her _head and you'll tell me anyway."

The Doctor's blood ran cold. "If you touch her…"

He laughed. "Who says I have to touch her?"

The Doctor found himself being thrown backwards, skidding across the floor and hitting his head against the wall, before sliding upwards until he was at eye level with the man. He couldn't move away from the wall. Actually, he couldn't move _at all._

He struggled and tried his best, but there was nothing he could do.

The man came up to the Doctor. There was no laughter, no smile, nothing. Just a dark and furious killer.

"Now. What are you?"

The Doctor glared at him.

He sighed. "Look, I've been really _desperate _for an excuse to kill your little friend, slowly and _painfully._ She's been driving me crazy for hours. So if you don't want to _give _me that excuse, I suggest you start _talking._"

The Doctor looked desperately in the direction of where he'd heard Donna scream. He sighed heavily. "What do you want to know?"

The man smiled and pulled up a chair, sitting down while leaving the Doctor suspended in the air. "That's better." His smile widened. "What's your name?"

The Doctor glared at him. "I'm The Doctor."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, 'Doctor'. I'm Sylar."


	2. Questions

Donna sobbed, clutching her head, trying to stop the blood that was flowing heavily.

She sat down, unable to speak, unable to move, unable to do anything but whimper. The pain in her head was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Unlike she'd ever felt in her life.

"Doctor…" She whispered. "Oh, Doctor…"

* * *

The Doctor glared at Sylar, who seemed perfectly relaxed as he relayed Donna's words.

The Doctor felt genuinely sick. This man, no, this _monster, _enjoyed what he was doing. He enjoyed the pain he was causing.

He struggled once more against the invisible force that held him, but there was no use.

"Leave Donna out of this!" he cried. "I don't care what you do to me, just leave her alone!"

Sylar rolled his eyes. "Oh-so-noble." He snorted. "I told you, Doctor. I'll leave her alone if you tell me what I want to know."

"What?" The Doctor demanded. "What do you want to know? _You haven't told me!"_

"Temper, temper." Sylar shook his head. "You should know better than that."

The Doctor struggled against the invisible force once more. He was seething, his expression livid. "So help me…"

Sylar came up next to him, his eyes locking on the Time Lord's. "What are you? Human or Hero?"

The Doctor swallowed. "Neither!" he spat out unwillingly.

Sylar rolled his eyes. "You have to be one or the other, Doctor! No exceptions." His finger raised level with the Doctor's forehead. For some reason, this scared the Doctor more than almost anything ever had.

"_What are you?_" He demanded again.

The Doctor sighed, realizing that he really had no choice. "I'm a Time Lord. From the planet Gallifrey." He said the words with a resigned tone in his voice.

"An alien?" The Doctor thought the man might scoff, but Sylar looked genuinely curious. "Really?"

The Doctor tried to nod. "I can prove it." He whispered. "Just let Donna go."

Sylar sighed. "Enough with the 'Let Donna go' bullshit, Doctor. I'll let her go when I feel like it. And that's not right now." He looked at the Doctor, raising the finger again. "How can you prove it?" he demanded.

The Doctor looked at him. "Just take a pulse. Two hearts."

Sylar cocked an eyebrow. "Interesting."

The Doctor wasn't surprised when Sylar placed his fingers against his wrist, pressing them slightly.

"My turn." The Doctor said. "What year is this?"

Sylar looked at him like he was insane. "Did I say you got a turn?" He demanded.

The Doctor glowered at him. "I had hoped." Acid laced his words.

"Too bad." He thought for a moment, then stumbled back. "Crap. You really are an alien."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yes! Now _what year is this_?"

"Does it matter?" his eyes narrowed. "Time Lord…" He started pacing, muttering random things to himself. But the Doctor kept up well (this was often the way he often figured things out, after all).

"An alien…" Sylar continued. "Asking about the year…Time Lord…" he froze, then whirled to face the Doctor. "You travel in time, don't you?"

The Doctor snorted. "You tell me."

Sylar smirked, and Donna screamed in the other room.

"All right, all right!" The Doctor cried, once more struggling, trying to get away from the wall and into the other room, desperate to help Donna. "Yes, I travel in time! Happy?"

Sylar nodded once. "You teleport?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "It's a little more complicated than that…"

"Then make it _uncomplicated_." Sylar growled, his finger rising to The Doctor's forehead again.

The Doctor winced. This man could give the Daleks a run for their money. "Well, in human terms, I travel in time and space using a machine called the TARDIS."

Too late, The Doctor realized how grave of a mistake those words were. Sylar's eyes were gleaming.

"The TARDIS?" The serial killer demanded. "What does it do? _How?_"

"I want to see Donna." The Doctor said defiantly.

For a moment, Sylar's finger hovered in front of The Doctor's forehead again. The Doctor tried to stare him down, but Sylar just glared back.

Finally, Sylar nodded. "All right. Two minutes. That's it."

The Doctor fell to the floor. He kept his hands raised as Sylar led him along to another room.

"You might need this, though." Sylar said, smirking as he tossed a flashlight in The Doctor's direction. The Time Lord caught it with ease.

Sylar opened the door, and The Doctor heard Donna sobbing from inside. He ran inside quickly, flicking on the flashlight.

"Donna?" He asked.

* * *

Sylar raised an eyebrow. That was interesting. The Doctor's voice was so soft, so quiet. For someone so powerful, someone who could travel in time, travel in space, for someone not human, for someone like _The Doctor, _he was quite sympathetic to humans. Maybe he pitied them. Sylar sometimes pitied them, too. But he preferred to put them out of their misery than to show them the universe, which seemed to be this… Doctor's preference.

"Enjoy!" Sylar bit out sarcastically, knowing full well that Donna wasn't the only victim in there. The only living one, maybe, but not the only one.

He smirked as he waited, listening to their conversation. He questioned the logic behind giving The Doctor a minute with the woman. But The Doctor couldn't keep talking forever. And Sylar had seen it, in his eyes. That hesitation. The Doctor didn't want to tell Sylar _anything _about this TARDIS. He hadn't wanted to say anything in the first place, but this would take some convincing.

He smiled. Donna would be helpful in that respect, at least. If the Doctor saw what kind of a state she was in…

Sylar's smile widened as he listened carefully to the conversation on the other side of the door.

_"Oh, Donna. I'm so sorry…_" Sylar heard cloth moving and assumed that The Doctor was hugging her.

Donna was sobbing. _"What do you need me to do?_" She asked. Her voice was the faintest whisper, but Sylar still heard it.

Sylar looked at the door in surprise. Well. That was brave. The girl might be human, but she had courage. She was noble. Noble, but stupid. The girl wouldn't last two seconds trying to do anything, not with the gash on her head that Sylar had put there, the gash that was still bleeding heavily. He could hear the liquid splashing against the floor.

_"Nothing. Please, Donna, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but you have to stay here."_

These two continued to surprise him. he'd assumed that The Doctor would tell her to escape, to get away as fast as she could. It was the typical response.

"_What? Doctor, there's a killer here! There's a body! Look!"_

Sylar heard The Doctor's breath catch in his throat, and Donna swallowed, her breathing suddenly heavy as more sobs forced their way out from her.

_"I… I didn't know about that._" She breathed. Sylar smirked. So the top of the head might be missing. That wasn't his fault; the man had to die somehow for his body to be there, didn't he?

The Doctor's voice was cold. _"Why? That's what I want to know. This is purposeful, calculated. There's a _reason."

"_He's a sadistic serial killer! Case closed!" _But Donna, despite the fury in her words, was back to sobbing. "_Doctor, please. I don't want to stay here._"

"_Oh, Donna, I'm so sorry, please, I really am. But this man is dangerous. You'd never make it out of here alive." _

There was silence for a moment, and Sylar heard him hug her again.

_"It will be ok." _The Doctor whispered. "_I promise, we'll get out of here. We'll get you home, get some tea, eh? Maybe go to Reklon IV. Best tea in the galaxy, that I can promise you."_

_"No. No Reklon IV, no diamond planets called Midnight." _She sobbed._ "I want to go home, Doctor. Just for a day. Just… be home." _

_"All right. Home it is then. Fish n' chips, a decent cup of tea, everything. Little earth, in your time. Anything you want."_

_"It's that bad?" _her voice cracked.

"_It's that bad."_

She swallowed.

"_I'm sorry. But we'll get out of this, I promise. No matter what, I'm going to make sure you get home, ok?"_

_"What about _you, _Doctor?"_

_"Me? Oh, I'll be fine. I'm always fine."_

Sylar highly doubted that one. He opened the door. "Time's up."

He saw Donna clinging to The Doctor, though rage was burning white-hot in her eyes as she glared at him. Not that he cared.

The Doctor held her tighter for a second.

"What am I going to do?" Donna asked softly, trying to ignore Sylar.

The Doctor held her at arm's length so that he could look into her eyes. "Just stay here and wait, all right? I'll get you out, I promise."

She nodded slowly. Sylar raised an eyebrow. Clearly, though he'd given her no reason to, Donna completely trusted The Doctor.

"Enough." Sylar snapped. "Doctor."

The Doctor nodded to Donna, who wiped her eyes and nodded back.

Then he turned to face Sylar and followed him out the door.

* * *

Sylar pulled up two chairs this time. The Doctor stayed standing.

Sylar sighed. "Really. I try to be polite, and people ignore it. What's wrong with that?" His eyes fixed themselves on the Doctor's.

The Doctor remained silent, his eyes filled with an unnamable fury.

Sylar rolled his eyes. "It's either the chair or the wall. Take your pick."

The Doctor glowered at him, but sat down.

Sylar smiled. "That's better." He looked at The Doctor for a moment. "You know, most people would have told her to run as fast and as far as she could. Arranged an escape. Anything but what you did." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But you told her to stay. Why?"

The Doctor just glared at him.

"You promised her you'd get her out of here alive." Sylar continued, unfazed. "If you want to keep that promise, I suggest you tell me. Why?"

The Doctor sighed. "Like I said. She'd never make it out of here. She's human." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're not."

"Bravo, you've discovered the obvious. No, I'm not human. Though slightly more than you are, I'd think."

"True." The Doctor's eyes remained hard. "I've never been human. But you were once, weren't you?" His voice had gotten soft.

It struck a nerve, The Doctor could tell. Sylar's teeth were clenched as he spoke again. "I'm not human. And I never will be."

The Doctor smiled, a cold, hard smile. "But you _were once_."

Sylar stood, electricity dancing in his hands. "Never!"

The Doctor raised one eyebrow, but just sat there. There was no fight in the Time Lord's eyes, and if he was interested or pleased by Sylar's reaction, he didn't show it.

Sylar slowly calmed down enough to sit back into his chair, though he continued to glare at The Doctor.

But The Doctor had started thinking. He'd won a minor victory, and it was good enough for him.

Sylar looked at the Doctor again. "Now. This TARDIS. What does it do, and how does it do it?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Believe me, if I tried to explain it, you're head would explode."

Sylar snorted. "Try me."

"It's best for both of us if I don't."

Sylar thought for a minute. "2010." He said at last.

The Doctor looked mildly startled, but recovered quickly. "I'm sorry?"

Sylar smiled. "You wanted an answer for an answer." He chuckled. "I'm flexible. The year is 2010."

The Doctor winced. "A few years off, aren't I…?"

"Is that a question?"

"No."

"Thought not." Sylar smiled coldly. "So, that leaves you with…" He counted on his fingers quickly, then nodded, satisfied. "Three."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"Two."

The Doctor nodded. "You _are _serious." He thought for a moment. "Let's see. You're obviously not human, so what else is there?" he raised a hand, cutting Sylar off before he could answer. "That's not my question. You mentioned something about a 'hero.' What did you mean?"

"That's your question?"

"Yes."

Sylar shrugged. "There are people out there, Doctor. People that aren't human anymore. They can do strange things, things normal humans could never hope for."

The Doctor didn't want to waste his next question on something so unimportant, but he had to. "Such as…?"

"Telekinesis. Telepathy. Time travel."

"Lots of T's…" The Doctor mused. "And you're one of them?"

"My turn. What is a TARDIS?"

"It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. T-A-R-D-I-S, TARDIS. So you're telekinetic?"

"Among other things. How does the TARDIS work?"

"If I explained that, we'd be here for days. It takes you from one place in time and/or space and puts you in another. What other things?"

"Manipulation of electricity. Flight. Painting the future. Radioactivity. Mainly, I know how things work. Where is the TARDIS?"

"Parked in London, I think. Not quite sure. Why is someone's body in the room with Donna?"

Sylar shrugged. "I didn't know where else to put it. Or where to put _her, _for that matter. How do you control it?"

"The TARDIS? Well, _you _don't control it. You have to be a Time Lord. Sort of. Ish. Kinda complicated. Why did you kill him?"

"He had something I wanted. So no one else can control it?"

"Not necessarily. If you found another Time Lord somewhere, though that's highly unlikely. What was it you wanted?"

"His ability. Could breathe underwater, believe it or not. How unlikely and why?"

"Very unlikely, because I'm the last of the Time Lords. That's two. So you took his ability by killing him?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I told you. I know how things work. I saw…" He smirked. "Inside his head, so to speak, and knew how his ability worked. So no human could ever be able to use it?"

A look of disgust and repulsion had crossed The Doctor's face, but he answered. "Doubtful. There are exceptions, of course. Is this a common thing for you?"

"You could say that. What kind of exceptions?"

"Emergency programs, already plugged into the system in case I need to send someone home without me. What was the man's name?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Just tell me."

"I don't know. Why would you send someone home without you?"

The Doctor's expression was livid, but he kept his anger in control. "In case I died. I've come close before. In fact, I was stabbed pretty recently. How come I'm not dead?"

"Ah. _That. _A simple blood transfusion. One of my abilities is cellular regeneration. Pulled the knife out and gave you some of my blood. Could you program the TARDIS to do other things? Not just emergencies?"

"No."

Before he could ask his question, Sylar spoke. "You're lying."

"Am not."

"If you don't answer truthfully, then I won't. That's the deal, Doctor."

The Doctor sighed. "Yes, I can program it to do other things." He thought for a moment about his next question. "How did you know I was lying?"

"It was an ability."

"Figures."

"Where, _exactly, _is the TARDIS?"

"Um… I'm not sure, _exactly. _Somewhere. I'd recognize it if I saw it. The person you took the cellular regeneration from; is he dead?"

"_She _isn't, no. Why don't you know?"

"Well, I _know, _I just don't really bother with street names. They all blur into each other after being on so many planets. What's her name?"

"Claire Bennett. Planets?"

"Well, yes, obviously. I told you it could travel in space."

Sylar bit his lip thoughtfully. "Interesting. I wonder…" He looked at the window, raising one eyebrow as he noticed that the sun was setting quickly.

"Anyone else survive you… taking their ability?" The Doctor winced.

"One. Though I never really _succeeded _in taking his ability. What does the TARDIS look like?"

"A blue box, basically. About this high, this wide." He measured the distance with his hands. "One of those old telephone boxes. Says 'Police Public Call Box' on the top. What was his name?"

"Peter. Peter Petrelli." He looked out the window. "And, I have a feeling this blue box is going to be pretty important." He smirked.

The Doctor felt his legs move, without his permission. He stood, though he wasn't trying to. He started walking in a different direction, and tried to complain, but his lips were pressed together once more.

"I'm afraid I'll need you out of the way for a while." He heard Sylar's voice behind him as he walked unwillingly into a room, one separate from Donna's. "Not long, but a while."

The door slammed behind The Doctor as he regained control of his legs. His struggling finally worked, and he lost his balance, falling to the floor. By the time he had managed to get back on his feet, the door was locked. Sylar was gone; he could hear him going out the window.

He sat down and closed his eyes. Now was the time for thinking.

Peter Petrelli. Claire Bennett. Both of which would want to get back at Sylar. Despite everything, The Doctor had no real chance against this man if he didn't have help, and those two were his best bet.

But that was the problem. If The Doctor asked for help, things could turn ugly. These abilities were dangerous, and if he started two 'heroes' fighting, it could easily escalate into a war.

A war that could very well mean the end of humanity itself.


	3. Telepathic

Hiro whimpered as he looked at the bloody mess on the table where a strange man with two hearts and a knife wound had been only moments ago.

"Where did he go?" He asked, looking around the table. "Oh, this is all my fault! I should have gotten him too! Before I teleported!"

"There was nothing you could do, Hiro." Mohinder snapped irritably.

Hiro whimpered again, and Ando sighed. There was silence for a minute as they all stared at the table.

"I have to find him." Hiro said suddenly.

"I'm not entirely sure that would be a good thing…" Mohinder warned.

"No! He was a hero! We can't let Sylar kill him!"

"Well, how do you suggest we find them?" Mohinder demanded.

There was silence.

"Molly." Ando suddenly volunteered.

Mohinder looked at him. "I'm sorry?"

"Molly could find them. I mean, she won't know what the… 'Stabbed Man' looks like, but she's seen Sylar before."

Hiro's face lit up like a kid's on Christmas. "Yes! Molly could find them!"

Mohinder chewed his lip thoughtfully. "It could work."

Hiro grinned widely.

"She's still with Matt, isn't she?" Ando asked, and Mohinder nodded.

Hiro placed a hand on Ando's shoulder, and, without another word, disappeared.

* * *

Hiro frowned as he looked out the window. He was a few hours off _again. _The sun had already set, for crying out loud!

Ando looked around. "Matt? Matt…?"

Matt came into the room with his gun out. "Hiro! Ando!" He put the gun down. "What are you doing here?"

Hiro smiled. "We need Molly's help!

"Molly? Oh, give the kid a break, will ya?"

Hiro's face fell. "But… but this is about Sylar…"

Matt froze. "Sylar? He's _alive?"_

Hiro nodded fiercely. "And he took someone. A man. With two hearts!"

Matt swallowed. "I'll… I'll be right back."

He turned into the other room. When he came back, a very groggy Molly was following him. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Hiro, smiling.

"Hi." She said weakly.

Matt knelt down, at eye level with the little girl. "Molly? We need you to do something for us." he took a deep breath, as though steadying himself, trying to tell this girl that he wanted to find the man from her nightmares. "We… We…"

Ando decided to take it out of his hands. "We need you to find Sylar."

The little girl paled considerably. "Sylar?" She squeaked. "He's alive?"

Hiro nodded sadly.

She swallowed, bracing herself, trying to answer. "O-Ok. I'll do it."

Matt smiled and kissed the top of her head. "That's my girl."

She smiled weakly back. "I'll need a map." She whispered.

Matt nodded and hurried off into the other room.

Molly sat down on the table as Matt returned with a map of the United States and a push pin.

She took the pin from him, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

Her eyes snapped open. A confused look passed her face. "This map isn't big enough." She said matter-of-factly.

Matt looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She turned to face him, her eyes wide. "He's not in the United States."

Matt nodded in understanding and left the room, returning with a map of the world.

Molly gently took it from him and unfolded it. The major cities were labeled, but nothing else.

She lifted the push pin again and closed her eyes. It hovered above the map for a moment before landing. She traced a small line, then pressed the pin directly on a dot on the map.

"London." Matt read. "He's in London."

Hiro grinned. "Then so are we!" he said triumphantly. He placed a hand on Ando's shoulder, ready to teleport.

But he never got any further than that. Because, at that moment, Matt Parkman screamed.

* * *

The Doctor gasped in pain; humans shouldn't have that kind of telepathic ability.

The world went dark around him for a second, then brightened instantly.

"Hello?" He called out.

A man suddenly appeared in front of him, whirling around in confusion. His eyes finally landed on the Doctor.

For a moment, they just stood there, unable to understand where they were or what the other was doing there.

"Erm… Hi. I'm The Doctor." The Doctor held out a hand.

The man looked at it as though it was diseased. "Matt." He said tentatively. "Matt Parkman."

The Doctor lowered his hand, not wanting to frighten the man.

"How… what?" Matt asked. "Who…?" he couldn't get his questions in order. "What happened?" He asked at last.

"I'm not entirely sure." The Doctor replied thoughtfully. "I was _trying _to make telepathic contact with a man named Peter Petrelli. It was already risky; I'm not exactly _perfect _with telepathy, but I had _hoped…_"

But Matt's eyes lit up. "Peter? You know Peter?"

"Well, I don't necessarily_ know _him, but someone… told me about him. It's very important that I speak with him."

"Why?"

The Doctor smiled regretfully. "I'm afraid I don't have much time to explain that in detail. Let's just say a very dangerous man is about to get a very powerful weapon."

"A weapon? What kind of weapon?"

"It… It's best if I just talk to Peter."

Matt's face flashed with irritation. "Look. If you haven't noticed, Peter isn't here. _I am. _So you'd better start explaining."

The Doctor smiled ruefully. "You're right, of course. I'm sorry." He thought for a moment. "It's a weapon that could break apart the entire time/space continuum if not used properly. And I dread to think of what would happen if he got his hands on it…" He shuddered.

"And who is _he?_"

"Well, all I know is the name. Sylar."

* * *

Sylar whistled quietly to himself as he walked down the street. A smile broke out on his face as he saw what he'd spent an hour looking for.

A tall blue box.

He smiled. The TARDIS.

He walked up to it and stared at it for a moment. He held out a hand.

He grunted under the strain as the box slowly rose off the ground. It was a lot heavier than it looked.

He took off, leaving the ground, the TARDIS flying behind.

* * *

Matt's face was ashen. "Sylar?"

The Doctor nodded gravely. "You know him?"

"Who doesn't?" he breathed. "He's… well, dangerous." He bit his lip thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if you know anything about this, but I'll say it anyway. There are people out there, people with… abilities. Things that no one else can…" he trailed off as he saw The Doctor smiling knowingly.

"He told me." He informed the telepath.

* * *

Sylar set the blue box down carefully. It was already sunrise.

"My, my." He commented. "How time flies."

He walked over to the next room and knocked on the door. "Rise and shine, Doctor!"

No reply.

He rolled his eyes and opened the door, finding The Doctor unconscious on the floor. He smirked and left.

He returned with a large glass of water. "Don't make me do this." He told the Time Lord.

The Doctor didn't reply.

He smiled. "Then this is your own fault."

He dumped the contents of the glass onto the Doctor's face, who woke up, spluttering and leaping to his feet.

* * *

The Doctor disappeared suddenly, and Matt was left alone.

"Hello?" he called. "Doctor?"

_Matt?_ The voice echoed around him, but it wasn't The Doctor's voice. _Matt, please, wake up…_

"Molly?" he asked.

The world turned dark.

He woke up slowly, finding Hiro, Ando, and Molly looking down at him. They smiled as he slowly sat up. "What happened?"

* * *

The Doctor shook his head, sending droplets of water everywhere. "There was no reason for that!" He snapped indignantly.

Sylar smirked. "I thought there was."

The Doctor continued to glare at him until Sylar spoke once more. "I found something that might interest you."

The Doctor's hearts sunk. There was only one thing he could think of that would cause that smile on this killer's face.

His worst fears were confirmed as Sylar led him into the other room. A tall blue box greeted him.

The Doctor felt genuinely sick. The only man on Earth that the Doctor was afraid of, perhaps the world's most dangerous serial killer, was now in possession of his TARDIS.

Sylar smiled as he placed a hand on the wood. "Can't get inside." He mused. "And I can get through almost anything if I try hard enough. This thing is impervious to telekinesis, radioactivity, everything imaginable."

Something sparked briefly in the Doctor's mind. "Are you telepathic?" He asked before he could stop himself.

Sylar whirled to face him, obviously confused. "Why?"

"Curious."

"Liar."

"It's the only answer you'll get."

Sylar remained silent.

The Doctor smiled. "Thank you. That's all I needed."

Sylar shot a murderous glare at him, but did nothing else. The Doctor grinned inwardly, sure that if his smile was as wide as he wanted it to be, he would be past the point of regeneration in two seconds. This Sylar seemed to have a foul temper, and when he got angry, people tended to die. Not that the Doctor would have particularly cared during normal circumstances, but Sylar did have Donna…

"So how do you get inside?" Sylar asked.

The Doctor swallowed nervously. "Well, you emptied out my pockets, and the key was inside…"

Sylar raised an eyebrow and walked into the other room, returning with a familiar silver key. He tossed it to the Doctor, who caught it.

"You're pockets were _full _of _junk._" Sylar noted.

"They're… bigger on the inside." The Doctor said simply, putting the key into the lock.

"Interesting."

The Doctor opened the door. He took a step inside, but Sylar gripped his shoulder, his hand like a vice.

"If you try anything," he warned, hissing his words into the Doctor's ear. "I will personally make sure that Donna dies _slowly_, understood?"

The Doctor smiled disarmingly. "'Course. You think I'd try something?"

Sylar glared at him, but allowed him to walk into the TARDIS. Sylar followed after a minute, his eyes widening as he saw the inside.

"That's…"

"Interesting?" The Doctor suggested.

Sylar nodded, an expression of pure shock on his face. "Bigger on the inside…"

The Doctor smiled to himself, then frowned as he remembered how dangerous this was. This man could wonder how the TARDIS worked and…

The Doctor turned considerably paler. He felt the color drain from his face, and one heart skipped a beat, setting it completely out of sync with the other. What if, just _what if, _this Sylar looked into the heart of the TARDIS?

He swallowed against the lump in his throat, trying to act as though nothing was wrong.

Sylar didn't seem to notice. His eyes were wide, darting about, trying to take everything in.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. No, Sylar wouldn't know about the heart of the TARDIS. The Doctor would never tell him. He would lie, tell half-truths, erase his own memories or something, _anything, _just to make sure that he would never know.

Humans would burn if they saw the heart of the TARDIS. Rose had proven that. Time Lords would regenerate, or, in some cases, become so powerful that nothing could ever stop them.

But he had no idea what would happen to a _hero, _least of all one like Sylar. No doubt, he would go insane, but he would be more powerful than even the Doctor could imagine. Time itself would be on his side, helping this serial killer with anything he wanted…

The Doctor couldn't let that happen.

Sylar was walking around the TARDIS console, his hand gently brushing on the controls as he walked, an awed expression on his face. "This is impossible." He breathed.

"Not necessarily." The Doctor tried to sound indignant, but his words came out as though he was being strangled.

Sylar noticed this time. He turned to the Doctor. "Something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing." The Doctor mumbled quickly. Too quickly.

Sylar walked up next to the Time Lord, who was doing everything in his power not to make eye contact. His brain was firing off strategies, plans, anything, but for once it failed him. There was no solution he could think of that wouldn't put Donna in immediate danger.

"There's something you're not telling me." Sylar said confidently.

"What makes you think that?" The Doctor demanded, keeping his eyes on the controls and being careful not to tell a direct lie.

"Isn't there?"

The Doctor was stuck. If he said nothing, Sylar would know that there was. If he lied, Sylar would know. If he told the truth, well, Sylar would know.

"No." He mumbled.

"Liar." Sylar replied, sounding somewhat amused. "Didn't I tell you I know when you're not telling the truth?"

The Doctor remained silent.

"What is it?" Sylar asked.

"Like I'm going to tell you." The Doctor growled defiantly.

"With your precious Donna on the line? I think you will."

The Doctor was livid. "I'm warning you, if you hurt her…"

"I don't need to." Sylar's voice was quiet. "You'll do it for me."

The Doctor stumbled back. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?" Sylar asked, his voice lowering to a deadly whisper. "You haven't seen the things I'll do."

The Doctor's knees shook. There weren't many things that could scare him. Daleks and Cybermen were pretty much it. But this man, so close to being human, sent terror racing through his hearts.

He swallowed, unable to speak.

Sylar smirked. "I'll ask again, shall I? What are you trying to hide?"

The Doctor's mouth opened, then snapped shut. He was putting the universe on the line for Donna. For one human girl. Just one. Could he really condemn the world, condemn every living species for _her _sake?

Yes. A million times yes.


	4. Wrong

Matt didn't know much of what was happening. But he knew one thing.

"We need to get Peter." He told the others. "That… Doctor, whoever he was, was with Sylar. And, for whatever reason, he needed Peter."

Hiro beamed. "I can find him!"

"Molly can find him." Matt corrected, a little irritably. He turned to the little girl. "Can't you?"

She smiled and nodded; looking for Peter wasn't exactly a nightmare. She turned back to the map and held the push pin above it.

* * *

Sylar's eyes gleamed as The Doctor spoke, and the Time Lord's hearts sunk lower with every word he was forced to tell him. This was a man who stopped at nothing to gain power, and The Doctor was giving him the source of the greatest power he could ever hope to achieve.

"I want to see Donna." They were the first words out of The Doctor's mouth after he'd finished.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Sylar replied calmly. His eyes were still wide with wonder, staring around at the TARDIS. He walked over to the panel covered the heart of the TARDIS and stroked it gently. "And you say a truck managed to open it once?"

"I want to see Donna."

Sylar ignored him again. "Well, I think I'm slightly stronger than a truck." He smirked, as though there was some hidden joke, known only in the depths of this killer's mind.

"I want to see Donna."

Sylar whirled around to face the Doctor at last. "You are incredibly annoying, did you know that?"

"So I have been told. I still want to see Donna."

Sylar thought about this for a minute. "Very well. You can see your precious little human friend." He walked to the TARDIS doors and gestured for The Doctor to go first.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "As if I trust you in my TARDIS alone for even a second."

Sylar chuckled. "Smart man. But I don't exactly trust you not to take off, either." He gestured to the doors once more. "Together, then?"

The Doctor walked stiffly towards Sylar, who smiled nastily as they walked out of the TARDIS.

Sylar continued to stand next to The Doctor as the Time Lord locked the doors.

Sylar slowly walked with The Doctor, who had placed his key in his pocket.

"Please. A little trust." Sylar said, smirking.

The Doctor glared at him, but said nothing as they walked to the room where Donna was being kept.

Her head rose as The Doctor came into the room. He raced to her side trying to clear the blood away from her face. The gash on her head was still there, still bleeding heavily.

"Hey." He whispered softly.

Donna tried very hard to smile. She really did. But it ended up coming out in a grimace. "I'm going to _kill _that man." She said through clenched teeth.

The Doctor smiled at her. "There we go. That's the Donna I know."

She smiled weakly back as Sylar slammed the door behind them.

The Doctor's eyes shone in the dark. "We'll get out of here soon. I promise. I know what he wants and…" He trailed off and swallowed, wincing as though the words were painful. "And I'm going to give it to him. As long as he lets you go."

She looked at him. This was _The Doctor_. He _never _gave up.

So why was he doing it now?

He sighed heavily. "Donna. I want you to do me a favor."

She nodded slowly. "Anything, Doctor."

He smiled, barely visible in this darkness. "I need you to run. As soon as you get out of here, run as fast as you can. Get this…" he gently stroked the bloody line on her head. "Fixed, and then run. Because I'm going to have to do something, and I don't know what the damage will be."

Donna listened to his words carefully. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"You're a really bad liar."

"Am not. I've had nine hundred and four years of practice, thank you very much."

"TIME'S UP!" Sylar's voice roared from the other side of the door.

Donna stuck her tongue out at the door.

The Doctor stood. He gently stroked Donna's hair once more, then turned and slowly walked to the door.

"This is not going to be easy."

* * *

Sylar was feeling more than a little impatient. His earlier excitement over this extreme power that was hidden in a little blue box had slowly disappeared. In its place was an impatient edge that was becoming increasingly irritating.

But he smiled at The Doctor as he came out. The Time Lord had told Donna that he was going to give Sylar exactly what he wanted, so long as she was released. Sylar figured this was relatively reasonable; it seemed like a good enough deal to him. Perhaps slightly unfair for the Doctor, but it wasn't as though Sylar cared about that.

The Doctor's eyes were like steel as he studied the serial killer.

"It seems you've come around to my way of thinking, Doctor." Sylar allowed a sickeningly pleasant smile pass across his features. "If what you told your… companion was the truth."

The Doctor spoke through clenched teeth. "It would seem so, wouldn't it?"

The smile widened. "Good. Very good. Shall we, then?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Donna goes home first."

Sylar smirked. "Oh? Doctor, what, exactly, makes you think that this is open for negotiation?"

The Doctor came towards him very slowly. His steps were purposeful and calculated. Finally, he was next to Sylar, his eyes level with the killer's.

For the first time since he'd gained his ability, Sylar felt fear strike at his heart. He kept it from his face, keeping it smooth and emotionless. But a deep sense of panic, an instinctual thought of running and hiding was making his blood freeze.

"This. Is not. A negotiation." The Doctor's words were harder than his steely eyes. "This is not a _request_. This is what you will _do. _Or you will not have the chance to _regret it._" His eyes locked on Sylar's, who worked to avoid his gaze. "_Understood?_"

Sylar leaned in closer to the Doctor's face, trying to tower over him, but somehow failing miserably. "Is that a _threat?_"

The Doctor stood tall, a dark look on his face. He looked so fragile and weak; Sylar could snap him like a twig if so inclined.

So why was he so _terrified?_

"Only if it needs to be." His voice, so soft and deadly, sent shivers down Sylar's spine.

The Doctor backed away, keeping his eyes on Sylar.

And then everything changed.

Sylar didn't see where the explosion originated until the dust from the remains of his wall settled. A man stood in the ruins, his dark eyes hard, his hair blown back from too many hours of travel by flying.

His gaze landed on Sylar, who was pulling himself off the ground, wiping the blood and the dirt from his lip.

"Petrelli." Sylar said the name like a swear word.

"Sylar." Peter Petrelli acknowledged his existence with a nod of the head. Electricity crackled and blazed around him.

Sylar let out a fierce snarl and launched himself at the other man.

* * *

The Doctor wasn't sure how he knew the explosion would happen. He figured that, after nine hundred and four years of travel by phone box, he'd gained that instinct.

But he'd ducked out of the way just before the world had crumbled around him.

Perhaps that same instinct made him take the chance that was now available to him. He ran as quickly as he could into the room that Sylar had disappeared into when going to get the TARDIS key. He started shoving everything back in his pockets, then realized that would take too long. He'd snatched his sonic screwdriver and was out the door again before he really heard the sounds of two heroes battling.

He raced to the door where Donna was being held and, in one fluid motion, aimed the screwdriver at it. The door unlocked, and the Doctor ran through.

"Come on, Donna!" He told her, grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet.

Her face paled, and she looked as though she would collapse, but she ran as well. She kept stumbling, and the Doctor was torn as he tried to run as fast as he could _and _help her.

He barely saw the man who was engaged in an all-out war with the serial killer. He ran past, helping Donna through the carnage and chaos.

He reached the TARDIS and snapped his fingers. The door swung open. He smiled; that was a very useful trick.

He hurriedly got Donna inside, where she assured him that she could make it to the bench without his help. He then ran back out to where the two heroes were fighting.

"PETER!"

The other man whirled around, blocking Sylar's next blow.

"RUN!" The Doctor completed, then took his own advice and raced back to the TARDIS.

He grinned wildly. The man was Peter, just as he'd thought.

If he ever found Matt Parkman, the _real _Matt Parkman, he was going to give him an enormous hug. This _had _to be his doing.

As The Doctor ran back, something caught his eye. Something very familiar. Something that had been in his chest, and was still covered in his blood.

On an impulse-as many of his actions were- he swept the knife up into his hands before heading for the TARDIS once more.

As soon as he was safely inside, the Doctor activated the shields. Peter would only have a few seconds, then the TARDIS wouldn't let anyone else in.

"PETER PETRELLI, DO AS I SAY AND **RUN!**" The Doctor called through the doors.

He saw Peter backing slowly into the room, his fight with Sylar still raging. Blasts of light and heat seared across the room as they did so.

The Doctor hovered above the lever, waiting for Peter to get close enough…

At last, Peter crossed through the door. The Doctor pulled the lever down as quickly as he could before Sylar could enter.

The serial killer found that he could no longer move. He looked in absolute shock, where some invisible wall was stopping him.

The Doctor grinned and waved. The doors swung shut in Sylar's dumbfounded face.

"_Adios, estupido!_" The Doctor wasn't sure where the Spanish came from, but he didn't really care, either.

He raced across the TARDIS console, pulling levers and flipping switches. He rotated a dial, and the TARDIS lurched into life. A groaning sound filled the air.

The Doctor grinned and swept Donna into a huge hug. She laughed, and he laughed with her.

"_Molto Bene!" _The Doctor had realized, over the years, that he tended to speak in multiple languages when he was excited. He grinned at Peter Petrelli.

And then stopped cold.

"Ah. Yes. Forgot about that."

Peter was looking in absolute shock at the interior of the TARDIS. "It's… a little… bigger than I'd thought it would be." The hero said slowly.

The Doctor half-smiled. "That's the typical reaction."

Peter looked at it for a long time, then shook his head as if to clear it. "It's fine. I guess I've seen stranger things."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He couldn't stop himself from pouting just a little. "You know, you heroes are a tough crowd."

Peter smiled at him, slightly rueful. "I suppose we can be." His eyes drifted to Donna and hardened. "Did he do that to her?"

The Doctor turned to see Donna. The gash on her forehead looked much worse when they weren't running for their life or in total darkness. Blood poured down his friend's face.

The Doctor was at her side in a second. "Donna? Are you all right?"

She smiled weakly. "A little dizzy."

Peter raced to her side, rolling up his sleeves. He smiled softly at Donna.

"Hold still, all right?" He asked. Donna nodded, smiling weakly.

Peter carefully placed his hands on the sides of the gash, closing his eyes. A soft, shimmering, distorted sort of glow came from them, transferring from Peter to Donna.

The gash slowly began to seal itself. The color started to return to Donna's pale face. Soon, the only evidence of there ever being a wound was the blood that still heavily coated Donna's face.

Peter let out a heavy sigh of relief. He looked exhausted, but he smiled gently at Donna.

The Doctor smiled at Donna and hugged her tightly. She smiled and hugged him back.

"Right." Peter said, his voice cracking very slightly. "That's fixed. Now the question remains." His eyes locked on The Doctor. "Who are you?"

* * *

Matt didn't know what he was expecting. The Doctor, of course, but nothing like this.

Maybe he'd been expecting to see The Doctor flying into the room. Teleporting, maybe; Hiro had said he'd teleported with him. Perhaps a healer; there hadn't been a scratch on him, after all, and he'd been around Sylar for a long time. Not to mention the enormous hole in his shirt, covered with blood but without a source.

But he didn't expect the big blue box.

Hardly any time had passed between the time that Matt had called Peter and the time that the tall box materialized in Matt's home.

But then again, with all of the things that had happened in his life, why would he be so surprised?

The man that Matt knew only as 'The Doctor' swung the doors to the box open and bounded out. His eyes sparkled.

"Matt Parkman!" He cried. The grin on his face was one that only a maniac could wear. "I owe you a hug!"

Matt backed away. "Please. Don't."

The Doctor's smile became impossibly wider. "Oh, fine." He turned back to the box. "What are you waiting for? Get out here!"

A woman came out slowly. She had brilliant red hair and a look that said, quite plainly, _do not mess. _Peter followed her, shooting a wary smile at Matt.

"Stabbed Man!" Hiro cried, running to the Doctor's side. He bounced up and down with energy equal only to The Doctor's. "You are all right!"

The Doctor smiled and held Hiro's shoulders to keep him from bouncing. "Yes I think I am. Though I believe you'll find that I am not 'Stabbed Man.' I'm the Doctor, nice to meet you, hello!" He shook Hiro's hand.

Hiro pushed his glasses up his nose, his face bright. "I am Hiro! Hiro Nakamura!" He gave a small little bow.

The Doctor beamed. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

Ando stayed in the background until his friend pulled him forward. "This is Ando!"

The Doctor smiled at everyone as introductions were passed around. Matt watched in silence, too surprised to really react.

Peter walked over to him and watched the others, not facing him. "What do you think? Is he The Doctor?"

"Yes." There was no doubt in the telepath's mind. "Yeah, that's him. Was Sylar there?"

Peter nodded solemnly. "Yes. You were right; he is alive."

"The Doctor was right." Matt corrected. "Any idea on what he does?"

"He's not a hero, Matt."

He turned to face Peter at last. "What do you mean, he's not a hero? Sylar wouldn't go out of his way for some human, and…"

"He's not human, either."

Now he was confused. "But… he has to be."

"He's an alien." Peter said the words simply. "Calls himself a 'Time Lord'. That blue box…" He gestured to aforementioned box. "Is called a 'TARDIS'. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Matt swallowed. "You can't seriously expect me to believe…"

"He has two hearts. You make the decision."

Matt stared at him. "_Two hearts?_"

"Yes." It wasn't Peter's voice. Matt jumped, then whirled around. The woman, who had introduced herself as Donna Noble, was standing behind him. Her face was calm, her eyes serious. "Is it really such a stretch?"

For that, Matt had no answer.

* * *

Almost immediately after introductions were over, The Doctor had vanished back into the TARDIS. He'd stayed in there for a good half an hour before he'd gotten the answers he needed. Then, he'd stayed to argue with the TARDIS and run his tests again.

"This _can't _be right!" He shouted empathically, throwing his arms into the air. "Look again!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose as the test began to run once more. He still didn't remember anything that had happened before he was stabbed, and so he didn't know _who _had stabbed him.

"Yes, I _know, _Sylar's DNA is there!" He cried, looking once more at results that he didn't want. "Obviously! He pulled it out of me!" He looked further down the paper. "But you can't seriously expect me to believe that _she _stabbed me!"

He looked at the knife, the one that had struck too close to one of his hearts and was now giving him a world of grief. He'd scanned the DNA samples on it a thousand times, and each time he got the same answer.

"Wrong, wrong _WRONG!_" He shouted, angrily throwing the papers to the floor. Though not before ripping up quite a few of them. "You know why? Because it can't be _**RIGHT!**_**"**

He started pacing as he ran the test a third time. Again, he got the same results.

"She didn't do this, do you hear me?" He demanded of his time machine. "Donna Noble did _not _stab me!"


	5. How Things Work

Sylar wasn't scared. He wasn't. He couldn't be. He could heal himself, he could shoot lightning from his fingertips, he could _fly._ What could this 'Doctor' do? Nothing! He had two hearts. He had a TARDIS. That was all. He was completely reliant on this blue box of his. He did not have the power that Sylar did.

But that did not stop Sylar from pacing nervously, going in never-ending circles as he went. His thoughts were racing. Would the Doctor leave him alone? No, the Time Lord knew that Sylar was a threat. He would find him, chase him down.

So what should he do? Should he run? Should he try to hide from him? A man who was powerless, defenseless, a man who couldn't stop him from ripping open his head and searching the depths inside? Should he just run, get as far away from this man who could do _nothing _to him?

But no matter how hard Sylar tried to convince himself that the Doctor was weak, it could not be done. A fear that he'd never known had gripped his heart. A strange, unnatural chill was slowly spreading through his body. His legs felt weak and strange, as though they would not obey his commands when he needed them most. His arms were tingling as the nerves were stretched to their limit.

He stopped. So would he do it? Would he run?

And give the Doctor the satisfaction of _scaring him off?_

"Never!" Sylar was unaware that he had spoken the word out loud until it reached his ears. He jumped; further proof that he was more on edge than he had ever been.

So what could he do? Stay and fight? It seemed the only other way, the only other option.

And yet, Sylar knew he would not win. He knew that it would be impossible for him to destroy The Doctor. For all of his abilities, for all of his powers, for all his strength, and for all of the Doctor's weaknesses, Sylar would lose.

Sylar's mind kept spinning as he began to pace once more. How many others had fallen into the same trap as he had? How many others, on how many different worlds and in how many different times, how many? How many of them had believed that they could destroy the Time Lord, only to end up here? Deciding whether to run and hide or stay and fight, when they knew that either choice would be their end? How many of them had chosen to run, and how many chose to fight?

Sylar wasn't sure what would happen to him if and when the Doctor won. Would he be killed? It wasn't really possible. The Doctor knew that.

Though there was one spot, on the back of his head. Sylar gently placed his hand on it, as though that could protect it.

Would he be condemned to live the rest of his existence in a cage, a prison that he could not escape? He had spent some time imprisoned by the Company, and had no real inclination to be in that situation again.

Death or imprisonment? Sylar knew that he could not be in a cage unless his abilities were rendered useless. Or the cage was strong enough to hold him. Either way, his abilities would mean nothing to him. He would be… _Powerless. _

Sylar cringed at the very thought. He'd rather die.

And there it was. The decision. As quickly as the thoughts had come, they were resolved. He would stay and fight. And if he lost, he'd die. Or hope to die, rather than be forced into a cage.

His thoughts, his questions, no longer tortured him. He sat down, perfectly calm. Now that the decision was made, there was nothing else for him to do.

He relaxed, waiting for the Time Lord to come.

* * *

The Doctor, like always, was thinking.

He paced the room, six pairs of eyes watching him as he did so.

"So…" Peter spoke at last. "What are we going to do about Sylar?"

The Doctor's eyes flickered over to him. Peter looked down, uncomfortable under his intense gaze.

"Sylar?" The Doctor asked. He looked genuinely puzzled for a moment, then seemed to remember suddenly. "Oh! Right! Him!" He waved an airy hand. "We can deal with him later. What I'm really concerned about is _this._"

The Doctor pulled the knife out of his bigger-on-the-inside pocket.

"A knife?" Matt asked.

"Not just _any _knife, my dear telepath. The knife that stabbed me. The knife that is absolutely _covered _in DNA and fingerprints."

"Yeah." Peter rolled his eyes. "Sylar's. Obviously. So why are we still here?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no, no, you're missing the point. Think! Sylar used his regenerating blood to fix up the knife wound, remember?"

"I'm supposed to know this how, exactly?" Peter demanded, irritated. "You haven't really told us anything. You just pop by in that box and expect us to believe that you're an alien. Granted, circumstances are strange, but I've seen far stranger."

The Doctor blew him off again. "Yes, yes, all right. The important thing is that he _did _fix the wound, _and _he pulled out the knife. That would explain why his DNA is on the handle. _But, _here's the question: Why would he stab me, only to fix everything again?"

"Unless he didn't." Donna completed for him.

"Exactly!" The Doctor smiled, though Donna noticed he didn't look directly at her. "_Sylar _didn't stab me. Someone else _did._"

"Who?" Ando asked.

"Well, that's why we're here, isn't it? I ran a little DNA scan and found something very… interesting." His eyes drifted to Donna. All other eyes slowly followed.

Donna raised her eyebrows. "Me? Doctor, you know I would never…"

"Sylar's a shape-shifter." Peter jumped to her defense, unsure of why he was doing so. "He could have taken her form, made it so that you trusted him…"

"I thought of that. Some sort of shape-shifter, or imposter…" He shook his head. "But I'm afraid not. The DNA is infused with background radiation; only a time traveler could have done it. And I mean a _proper _time traveler, not this 'travel-without-a-capsule' nonsense." He gestured to Hiro as he spoke, then looked back at Donna. "It is definitely Donna's DNA."

They sat there uncomfortably for a very long time. Donna swallowed.

"Doctor, you know I wouldn't…"

"I know."

"Then what…?"

"I don't know. Something happened. Something important, something that I've missed…" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Doctor, why would I do that?"

"I said I believed you, Donna. I know you didn't…"

"Shut up and let me speak. If I _did _do it –which I'm not saying I did- I would have had a _reason. _I mean, you irritate me, and I might slap you from time to time, but I'd never _stab _you. You're my ride home!"

The Doctor smiled, though a few of the heroes were shooting worried glances in her direction. "Yes, that I am." The Doctor started pacing frantically. "I wonder, though, if I'm doing the right thing, staying here, trying to work this out…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

Silence filled the air for a minute, then the Doctor suddenly shouted, "GOT IT!" And ran for the TARDIS.

Donna leapt to her feet and ran after him, but the doors shut in her face.

"Oi! Let me in, Space Man!"

"Nu-uh. You're staying out there. Where it's _safe._" The Doctor's voice came from inside the box.

"I am not! Let me in, you great piece of space junk!" She yanked on the door handle, but the TARDIS refused to let her inside.

"Donna, this is probably one of the most dangerous things I have ever done. And I'm doing it just to find one stupid little answer to one stupid little question." Donna could almost imagine his grin. "Isn't that _brilliant?_"

"NO! It is _not _'brilliant'!" Donna pounded her fists on the door. "Doctor, where are you going?"

"Think about it, Donna! Just think! I'm no teleporter, so how did I follow Hiro after I was stabbed?"

"How would I know? And you're changing the subject!"

"Well, that's what I've got to find out, isn't it? Now, you stay there. And if any of you let her get hurt…" The Doctor's tone darkened as he addressed the heroes. "I will hold each and every one of you accountable. Well, then. BYE!"

Donna stepped back as a deep, groaning noise, like the harsh breath of a giant, sounded from deep within the TARDIS's engines. The light on top of the box flashed, and the box dematerialized in front of her.

"I'm going to _kill him._" Donna hissed through clenched teeth. She sighed and stumbled back onto the couch.

For a moment, no one said anything. Many of them were shooting nervous glances at Donna, as though unsure if she would become homicidal at any second. Others were working hard to avoid her gaze. Hiro was staring at the spot where the TARDIS had vanished, a child-like wonder in his eyes.

No one was looking at Molly. No one saw her intense gaze, locked on Donna Noble. No one really even remembered that she was there until she spoke.

"You aren't here." She said. Her voice was very quiet, but it made everyone jump nonetheless.

Donna raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

Molly looked at her. "You're no where. I can't find you."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need to? You can see her…"

"But I can't _find her._" Molly insisted. "She's not here. She's no where."

Donna looked at her. "I'm standing right in front of you!"

"NO!" Molly was on her feet suddenly, glaring at Donna. "You're not here, don't you get it? You're NO WHERE!"

* * *

Sylar was waiting for the noise. The one that would signal his failure, his defeat. The strange sound that sent chills down his spine as the fabric of space and time was torn apart long enough to release a little blue box.

It did not startle or scare him. He didn't even care about it. It was an oddity, a simple little thing that announced the arrival of something much larger.

"I'm in here, Doctor." Sylar called.

* * *

The Doctor stared at the scanner, watching as the patterns shifted and changed. He stuck his index finger in his mouth, waiting for the bleeding to stop.

"Well, vaff's owff." The Doctor said around his finger. He took it out and corrected himself. "That's odd."

He looked at his finger, his eyes widening as he saw the crimson seeping out of the small pinprick he'd used to take a blood sample. He hurriedly stuffed his finger back in his mouth.

He stayed like that for a moment as the scanner blinked and beeped. Finally, he removed his finger, no longer in danger of it bleeding. "Now, that's odd. That's very, very odd. That's so odd, it's not odd. Except it is odd."

He shook his head, having thoroughly confused himself. "That's strange." He said instead. "Very strange. So strange…"

He trailed off, not wanting to go down that route again. Instead, he studied the scanner. "Now, why would_ my _DNA be in flux like that?" He straightened, then tried the word out a few times. "Flux. Fl-u-ux. Flu-U-U-u-ux. Fluxuation!" He cried it out almost triumphantly.

He looked around, waiting for Donna to slap him out of it, then remembered that he'd left her behind. How could he have forgotten? She'd put up such a fight it wasn't even funny. He winced; he was going to pay very dearly for that little stunt, of that he was certain.

He hurriedly turned back to the scanner, trying to focus on one problem at a time.

"So, my DNA is going absolutely wacko." The Doctor thought out loud. "Question is, why? Why is it doing it? Why now? What's the _reason?_" He perked up. "Reason. Re-e-eas-s-s-son. REEEAAASSONN!"

He looked around, shrugged, then pressed a button.

"No use just wondering!" He said, energetically spinning a little dial, then twisting a handle. "Time to go and actually _find out._"

The TARDIS lurched into life, throwing him off his feet.

As the TARDIS landed, the Doctor stood up again, jumping up as quickly as he could. He took a look at the world outside; not much had changed. The room was full of carnage, ash, dust, and black burn marks.

He walked to the doors and opened them. They creaked slightly, but it was drowned out by another noise.

"I'm in here, Doctor."

The Doctor tried to find the menace behind the words, the hidden hatred in the killer's tone. But there was none. There was no challenge; the words were simply a statement of fact.

He walked to the other room, glass crunching beneath his feet as he did so. He slowly opened the door.

Sylar was sitting down, perfectly relaxed as he looked at the Doctor.

The killer smiled. "You're late."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I am?"

Sylar gestured to a painting next to him. "Yes, yes you are. You were supposed to be here exactly three minutes ago." One of his eyebrows shot up as well. "Which is surprising. This ability is rarely wrong, and when it is, it's because the future has changed."

The Doctor smiled as he remembered; one of Sylar's abilities was painting the future. "Strange."

"Very." Sylar replied. His eyes observed everything, as though he was preparing himself to use anything and everything he could to defend himself. Though you wouldn't have known it by his stance; he was still sitting, still perfectly relaxed.

The Doctor looked at him for a long time. "You know why I'm here." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"You know that this can't happen any more."

"Of course."

"And you know that this has to end. Here and now. The killing, the murder, the senseless deaths… It has to stop."

"I understand." Sylar said the words nonchalantly. "However, you and I both know that it would be impossible for it to end that simply."

"Perhaps not, Sylar. I'm giving you a chance. Just stop. Stop killing, stop stealing these abilities. Is that so much to ask?"

Sylar's eyes narrowed. "Don't give me a second chance, Doctor. You and I both know how that would end."

The Doctor looked at him sadly. "I'm afraid I do."

There was silence for a minute.

"You know how things work." The Doctor said at last. "And that's part of why I'm here."

Sylar raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

The Doctor's eyes locked on Sylar's. "Yes. I need to know… How I work."

Sylar looked at him, interest sparkling in his eyes. "All right, Time Lord. You've gotten me curious. What, exactly, are you saying?"

The Doctor looked at him. "Something changed. Something has been done that needs to be undone. And I need to find out what it is."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because you_ know _what's changed. You know, or you _will _know." The Doctor closed his eyes, as though the words were causing him physical pain.

"I need you to look at the heart of the TARDIS."

**A/N: Sorry about how short the chapter is; I _had _to end it here. The next one should be longer. **


	6. Heart

It sounded so simple when the Doctor explained it. But, to Sylar, it was anything but simple.

Sylar gently placed his hand on the panel that covered the heart of the TARDIS. The time machine wasn't taking his presence too kindly; the lights had dimmed considerably as soon as he'd walked thorough the doors.

"There are some… risks." The Doctor swallowed. "You'd have to get rid of the time energy as soon as you possibly could. Too long and…"

"I die." Sylar cut him off.

"Or go insane."

"I can live with that." Sylar gently stroked the panel. The TARDIS's lights flickered unhappily at his touch.

The Doctor didn't seem too thrilled about it, either. "You're the only one who has a chance. I saw it once and…well, I had to regenerate."

"You cheated." Sylar said with a smile.

"You could say that." The Doctor swallowed. "But only Time Lords could manage it, and even then, I don't know if I could do it twice. Humans would burn. It would be too much for them…"

"But for a hero…" Sylar looked longingly at the panel, wishing to tear it open then and there, desperate for the secrets inside.

"I warned you, Sylar. You may not be able to handle it. In fact, I highly doubt you will. But… it's the only chance."

"And if I refuse?"

"Will you?"

"No. But if I did?"

"Then things would get very bad, very fast." The Doctor looked at him seriously. "If my theory is correct…"

"Than your DNA is shifting you in and out of the vortex, ripping holes in the fabric of space and time." Sylar recited perfectly. "I know."

There was silence for a minute.

"This could be incredibly dangerous for you, Sylar…"

"Are you trying to convince me out of it?"

"No. I'm just… warning you. I'm not sure if this is the best idea. If you go insane… Well, I won't lie to you. You'd be… unstoppable."

Sylar's eyes gleamed for a second, but he managed to control it. "I know."

"It's a very dangerous…"

"I know." Sylar was trying not to betray his irritation, but it was growing more and more difficult. The warnings were starting to become repetitive. Though he supposed it would be difficult for The Doctor to do this; to give a serial killer all of this power, even for a second…

The Doctor looked at him for a moment. "You can't keep it, Sylar."

Sylar didn't reply. He knew this, of course. Whatever was locked in the heart of the TARDIS was too powerful for Sylar to contain. Eventually, despite his non-human nature, he would die. Or go insane.

But he knew something that The Doctor did not.

After a moment, he nodded. "I know."

There was silence again.

Finally, Sylar spoke up. "What happens… when it's over? What happens to me?"

"Assuming you survive." The Doctor added unhelpfully. "We'll just have to figure it out as we go along."

Sylar nodded very slowly. At last, he turned to face The Doctor, tearing his eyes away from the panel.

"Shall we, then?"

The Doctor looked at him warily. "Why are you doing this, Sylar? Why are you agreeing? It's not for the power; you'll be giving that up." The Doctor stepped towards him. "So what is it?"

For a moment, the Time Lord and the hero just stared at each other. Finally, Sylar smiled.

"Curiosity." He replied. "I know how many things work, Doctor. I just want to _know._"

The Doctor looked at him, then nodded, accepting the answer.

"Very well, then." He turned his eyes to the panel. He winced; this was clearly hard for him to do. He gestured towards it, and Sylar smiled. No more words were spoken as Sylar walked over to it.

Sylar held out a hand, just above the panel. His fingers flexed as telekinetic energy pulled at the panel with increasing force.

Sylar stayed like that for a long time, his eyes narrowing in concentration. After a minute that felt like an eternity, Sylar gasped.

"I thought you said a truck opened it." He shot an accusing glare towards the Doctor.

"For Rose." The Doctor replied, shrugging. "The TARDIS knew her. Probably helped her out." His eyes flickered from the panel to Sylar's face. "It might be more difficult for you. The TARDIS doesn't exactly like you."

Sylar glowered at him. "Thanks for the warning."

He raised his hand again.

For a moment, nothing happened. The panel remained where it was, immobile, solid, with no hope of being opened.

And then it started to shake. Sweat beaded on Sylar's forehead as he focused on it. His muscles strained, and the TARDIS lights flickered.

The panel rattled. The TARDIS console sparked, but Sylar didn't seem to notice. His eyes were locked on the panel, every thought focused on opening it.

His other hand joined the first as he concentrated, the energy pulling harder and harder.

And then, so suddenly it was almost as though it hadn't happened, the panel opened. A pale, glowing light flowed around it, trying to remain inside the TARDIS.

Sylar took a glance at the Doctor, who nodded quickly, panic flashing in his eyes. The serial killer stepped towards it, his heart racing.

And he stared, straight into the light.

* * *

The Doctor wasn't sure why he was doing this.

His hearts were racing, thumping unevenly as Sylar stepped towards the now-open panel.

The light went directly from the TARDIS and into Sylar's eyes. It flowed and danced around him like a living thing.

For a brief second, The Doctor's vision was completely blocked by white light. He closed his eyes, then opened them again as the light vanished, trying to find Sylar.

The Doctor's eyes locked on the shuddering form a short distance away from him. Sylar was leaning against the TARDIS console. The panel was still open.

The serial killer looked up. Light was dancing in his eyes, floating and twisting inside their dark depths.

"Sylar…?" The Doctor said the word very cautiously.

The hero looked at him curiously. His breathing was harsh and ragged. Sweat glistened on his skin, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

The Doctor swallowed. He knew instantly that something was wrong; it hadn't been like this with Rose, not this quickly…

"I… can't…" Sylar's words were strained.

The killer took a deep breath. It rattled and grated in his lungs.

"It's… my… fault…" He whispered, his words cracking.

The Doctor took a cautious step towards him. "What happened, Sylar? Why is my DNA this way? What about Donna?"

Sylar looked at him. "Donna's DNA… and yours… my… fault!" He gasped, a hideous sound that made The Doctor wince.

Sylar stumbled over to the panel again. He collapsed in front of it, and stared deep into its heart for the second time.

The light traveled away from his eyes once more. It went back, to its proper place in the universe.

When the light vanished, the panel clamped shut. Sylar gasped again, then collapsed to the floor, lying flat on his back. His breathing was heavy as he did so.

"Sylar?" The Doctor asked. He came over to the hero.

Sylar's eyes were closed. Slowly, he sat up, not bothering to open them, as though he was still in too much pain to do anything that wasn't necessary.

"It's me." Sylar whispered to the Time Lord. "It's my fault that your DNA is in flux."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Your fault…?"

He trailed off as Sylar smiled. It was a strange smile, a triumphant smile. Slowly, it grew into a laugh. A laugh that was so hard, so cruel, so hideous that The Doctor couldn't help but cringe.

"Oh, Doctor." Sylar coughed in the middle of his laughter. "You don't get it, do you?"

The Doctor stared at him.

"I… know how things work." Sylar coughed again. "How else… would I be… this _powerful?_"

The Doctor looked at him with wide eyes.

Sylar's eyes were still closed, but as he spoke, he opened them.

The Doctor stumbled backwards. "Impossible! You put it back! You gave it back!"

But it was all too true. Sylar's eyes were still glowing, still alight with the unnatural, living light that had been in the heart of the TARDIS.

"You can't possibly understand." Sylar rolled his shining eyes. "Don't you see, Doctor? I know how things work. I know how your TARDIS works." His smile grew ever wider.

"So I don't _need _your TARDIS anymore."

Realization slowly dawned on the Time Lord's face. He swallowed, his hearts pounding strangely.

"Remember that little regenerist I told you about? Claire Bennett? Remember how I told you that she didn't die?" Sylar laughed again. "I don't _take _abilities, Doctor. The death is just a side affect." He coughed. "No, I just need to see. And then I know. And then the ability is _part of me_."

"So you know how the TARDIS works." The Doctor completed, horrified.

The serial killer laughed. "Exactly, Doctor! I don't _need _your TARDIS, don't you see? _I am a TARDIS!"_

* * *

Donna didn't know what happened.

One moment, a furious-looking Molly was telling her that she was no where.

And the next, the world was white.

Donna stared through the white, whirling around again and again, but there was nothing to see. There was nothing and no one in sight.

"Oi!" She called out, unsure exactly why she was doing so. "Anyone there?"

Something coughed behind her. Donna whirled around again.

Her eyes widened.

"Hello, Donna." Sylar smiled at her, a disgustingly sweet smile that she just wanted to wipe off of his face. His eyes were glowing; literally glowing. The light twisted and floated in his eyes strangely.

"Sylar." Donna's eyes narrowed. The last time she'd met this man, she'd been locked in a room, unable to do anything to defend herself as the gash on her forehead grew larger.

This time, things would be different. Donna was tired of being helpless.

Sylar looked at her. "I suppose your wondering where you are."

"Not really. I'm just enjoying the scenery." Donna bit out the words sarcastically.

Sylar's smile widened. "You're brave, human. I'll give you credit for that."

"Travel with The Doctor for a while and that's what happens." Donna rolled her eyes. "You meet so many monsters, you kind of get used to them." Her eyes locked on him. "Even if they look human."

He chuckled. "So I'm a monster now, am I?"

"I wonder." She rolled her eyes. "That's a real hard one to figure out, isn't it?"

He laughed. "Like I said. Brave."

* * *

Sylar moved a hand, and The Doctor was thrown backwards against the TARDIS. His head slammed into the side, causing sparks to fly from the time machine.

"If you don't mind…" Sylar said calmly. "I have something I must finish."

Sylar dematerialized in front of The Doctor, though he was lacking the noise that the TARDIS made.

The Time Lord closed his eyes sadly. "Oh, Sylar." He stood very slowly, then gently stroked the TARDIS console. The lights had brightened with the departure of the serial killer.

"I really tried." The Doctor whispered. "I really did."

He sighed and started pressing a few buttons slowly. He knew that Sylar had seen the whole of time, for just a minute. That was what he had given back.

And yet, he'd also seen what was inside the TARDIS. How she 'worked,' in his terms. And so he knew how to travel in time and space.

The Doctor looked down and picked up the TARDIS's phone. He punched in a number, then placed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Peter? It's the Doctor. Is Donna there?"

"Um… Doctor… we tried… but she just…"

"Disappeared." The Doctor completed for him calmly. "So that's what he's doing…" He trailed off and thought for a moment. Finally, he spoke again. "Peter, I need you and Matt to come with me. It's the only way we're going to stop Sylar."

Slowly, he explained everything. While he did that, he walked around the TARDIS, pulling levers and pushing buttons. The time machine came to life, and she lurched into the vortex.

Finally, The Doctor hung up. He sighed again.

"I had to give you a chance."


	7. The Past

**Four days earlier**

The Doctor flipped through a book. He sighed and tossed it to the ground casually as he finished.

"Bad ending." He said simply.

The TARDIS made a noise. A heavy, breath-like noise.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. The column in the center was still frozen, still in position.

"That's odd."

He walked over to the center console, pressing buttons, but the noise did not stop.

"Hmm…" He turned around.

And found himself facing a man.

He stumbled back. The man was tall, with dark hair and black clothes. He looked exhausted, and his breathing was heavy. Inside his eyes, light was twisting, as though it were a living creature that was in agony.

"She's not going to put up with me for long. There isn't much time." The man gestured to the TARDIS. "Listen very carefully.

"In two days, you're going to give this to Donna Noble." He pulled something out of his pocket. "And she is going to stab you."

The Doctor looked as though he would protest, but the man raised a hand, cutting him off.

"No time! You won't die, I can guarantee that. When she stabs you, you're going to lose all memory that I was ever here, or how the knife got in your chest. After that, you're on your own."

He handed the object to the Time Lord. It was a knife. A large, sharp knife.

"At that point, I'll be there. And neither of you will remember a thing, understood? I'll make you forget."

The Doctor tried to open his mouth, but the man dematerialized in front of him.

He stood, staring. The knife in his hand was the only proof that the man was there at all.

**Two days later. **

Donna stared at the Doctor. "NO! Doctor, this is insane!"

"That man looked into the heart of the TARDIS." The Doctor replied coolly. "He knows something about the future."

"But that doesn't mean I should _stab _you! We need to re-think this!" Panic was flashing in her eyes.

The Doctor looked at her. His eyes were smoldering softly, gazing intently into Donna's own.

"Donna… oh, Donna, please. Please, I need you to trust me." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please."

She looked down at the knife. "You'll be ok afterwards?" Her voice cracked.

He nodded.

"And neither of us will remember?"

Another nod.

She took a deep breath, then wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Doctor. Please believe me. I'm so so sorry…"

He gently stroked her hair back. "You haven't done anything yet."

"Doctor, please…"

For a moment, there was silence.

Finally, Donna broke away from the hug. There were tears in her eyes. "Are you ready?"

He shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be."

She nodded and raised the knife. She closed her eyes and tears streamed down her cheeks in a steady flow. Donna Noble was no killer. And, despite how many times she'd slapped The Doctor, she really did care about him.

She brought the knife down.

The Doctor cried out in pain, and Donna opened her eyes. As soon as she did, she wished she hadn't.

Blood was pouring from the Time Lord's chest. He gasped repeatedly, trying to get as much breath as he could.

She ran to his side, helping him as he almost fell to the floor. She sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

He smiled painfully and nodded. "It's ok… It's ok…"

A hand rested on Donna's shoulder. She jumped and looked upwards at the owner.

It had to be the man that The Doctor had talked about. Light was flowing in his eyes, a sun against a black hole.

"You did what had to be done." He said coldly. "Now stand back."

Donna did as told. The man placed his hands on The Doctor's shoulders.

The Time Lord felt his DNA shift and change. It continued to do so even as the other man lifted his hands away. Light flowed in between the two. Pure time energy sealed his DNA inside itself, making him a part of the vortex.

The Doctor looked at him in shock and fear as he felt himself moving from this point in time to another. Slowly, his memories began to die, until everything from up to four days ago was nothing but haze and smoke.

He opened his eyes. He was in some sort of forest. Shadows distorted images, and his vision was fogged over.

There, standing in that, was a man. His eyes widened, but it was more out of fear than shock.

And he started running.

The Doctor stood, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. He needed help. And this was the only person who could help him; he was certain of it.

And Hiro ran from the Time Lord, equally certain that he was a monster.

But Donna was still remembering. She still remembered what she had done.

"You promised I wouldn't know!" She told the strange man with the glowing eyes. "You promised!"

He nodded. He was still staring at the spot where the Doctor had been moments before. "And you won't remember anything."

He placed his hands on her head. She was forced to look him in the eyes as he did so. He closed his eyes, and she felt everything that had happened begin to disappear.

Unconsciousness claimed her, and she collapsed to the ground.

The man stood and disappeared. His job was done. The DNA of both The Doctor and Donna had been changed, set into flux, shifting the two of them in and out of the time vortex. The Doctor was following Hiro with a knife in his chest, and Hiro was running, afraid of the monster behind him.

Time was doing what it was meant to do.

Now, he was to return, to go back to the Donna Noble _he _knew…

In the shadows, Sylar watched in fascination. His eyes were all-too-dark, not filled with the strange, ethereal light.

But those eyes had seen what had happened. Those eyes had seen a man disappear, had seen power that he'd never known of before.

He walked over to the unconscious red-head and smiled. This could work out very nicely for him.

**A/N: Ok, I know it's a very short chapter. I just wanted to clear a few things up before I continue with the story. The next one should be longer. **


	8. TARDIS

**A/N: Sorry for the late update.**

**Present Day**

Donna fell to the ground with an undignified '_oof.'_

Sylar stood above her. The world had become solid and real once more; it was no longer simply white and plain. The house was an old one, and a fine layer of dust coated everything there, from the maroon couch to the old, black TV. Or, at least, it _looked _like a TV.

The serial killer flinched. "I'm not as coordinated with the time travel as I'd like to be." He admitted as Donna pulled herself upright.

Donna knew perfectly well that the TARDIS had a few glitches when it came to comfortable travel as well, but she didn't want to tell _him _that. Her eyes darted around, searching for something, anything, that she could use to escape.

He sighed heavily, somewhat exasperated, as he saw what she was doing. "Donna, I can go anywhere in time and space that I want to. Do you really believe I would have taken you somewhere you could get away from?"

She paused, glancing out the small window. Her breath caught in her throat.

The city was completely unrecognizable. The buildings were black; not just steel grey or silver or even dark grey, but _black. _In the distance, three suns were slowly setting, casting orange light around the buildings. The ground was blacker than the cities themselves.

"Welcome to Te'lan." Sylar said, unable to keep the pride out of his voice. "A planet doomed to die."

Donna looked at him. And what she saw as she stared into his eyes scared her more than almost anything in her travels had. Beyond the light twisting inside them, they were bright, black, and glittering. His lips were curled in a maliciously triumphant smile.

She shivered. But there was one thing she'd learned, after all this time in the TARDIS.

No one and nothing was allowed to scare her. Not even Sylar.

She stood, tall and defiant. "Why did you bring me here?" She demanded. Her heart was pounding in her chest, protesting this burst of insane courage, but she stood firm.

He raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought it was obvious." He replied coolly.

"Apparently not."

He sighed, his words spoken in the way one would address a child. "I have power, Donna, and The Doctor would do anything to take it away from me. I can't let that happen." His shining eyes locked on her. "So I have to make certain he never gets the chance. I've had time to fix everything; to put time in its proper order. Now, I can end this."

Donna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, wonderful. I'm here for leverage." She sat down on the floor, closing her eyes pointedly. "Wake me when the Doctor beats you, k?"

He chuckled and said no more.

* * *

The Doctor's eyes were unfocused as he looked at the TARDIS console. He wasn't moving.

Matt exchanged a glance with Peter, who was standing next to him. Peter shrugged minutely.

Matt pointedly cleared his throat as he looked once more at The Doctor.

The Time Lord's eyes flickered up to him. He blinked, as though he couldn't quite comprehend that the two heroes were there. Matt fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze.

Finally, the Doctor shook his head as though trying to clear it, clearing his throat. "Right." His eyes locked on the others. "We have one chance at this. One chance and one chance only.

"Sylar isn't a telepath. The TARDIS, however, is. As are you two." He gestured to the two heroes. "And that's what we're going to use."

"Telepathy?" Matt asked. "You want us to read his mind?"

The Doctor smiled ruefully at him. "No. A little… stronger than that."

* * *

Donna had heard the sound many times in her life. The deep sigh of a giant. The rasping breath of a storm. She never knew why, but it made her sad. Even when she was in the most dangerous of situations, and she was excited to see The Doctor, the sound of his TARDIS still managed to coax a melancholy thud out of her heart.

Sylar flicked his fingers, and Donna was forced into a corner of the room, hidden partially in shadow. She winced as her head knocked against the wall, but ignored the pain; it would only last a second.

The door opened with a creak. The Doctor stepped out slowly, his sharp eyes not missing Donna, huddled in the corner. He looked at Sylar.

"I gave you a chance, Sylar."

Sylar couldn't understand why the words terrified him. Compared to him, the Doctor was powerless, weak. He was nothing.

His mind sparked. When he had looked in the heart of the TARDIS, he'd known something about the Doctor. He'd only known it for the briefest of seconds, barely even that. But the TARDIS had known, and therefore, so did Sylar.

He had known that The Doctor always gave people a chance.

But only one.

Sylar tried to push his fears aside as Matt and Peter came out of the TARDIS. Their expressions were grim.

Sylar barked out a laugh. "Hiding behind the abilities of others, are we, Doctor?" He shook his head disapprovingly. "I expected better from you."

The Doctor looked at him almost sadly. Remorse was plain in his eyes; he didn't _want _to do this. He _had _to.

Donna watched his expression from the corner of the room. She'd seen that look on the Doctor's face; many times. It always came before something horrible happened.

The calm before the storm.

The Doctor turned back to the TARDIS, placing one hand on the side of the blue box. He sighed heavily, then nodded towards Matt.

Matt nodded gravely back, and took a step towards Sylar. Peter came up next to the telepath. Both wore expressions of dark determination.

But, as Sylar looked past that, he saw something else in their eyes. Something he'd never seen, not from anyone, not in a long time. Not since he'd found his ability.

_Pity._

And then pain flashed through his mind.

It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. The instant it struck, he fell to the ground, on his hands and knees.

He gasped for air, coughing out each breath he took. While he was physically able to breathe, it seemed so impossible, a task that no man could handle.

He was vaguely aware of The Doctor opening the TARDIS doors and walking over to the panel covering the time machine's heart. The Time Lord opened it with one, fluid motion. Light- ethereal, beautiful, and horrible- spilled out from its center. It stretched towards Sylar, reaching out to him.

His face twisted in agony as he collapsed to the ground. He felt a long, drawn-out moan leave his lips. Why wouldn't the pain _end?_

Each second was an eternity; almost literally. The time machine's heart was taking hold of his own, allowing him to see through the wars and pain in the whole of time and space in a single second. And with each second that passed by, the scenes repeated themselves in his mind. The pain seemed to grow worse and worse.

Now, he screamed. He couldn't stop it from escaping his lips. Nothing mattered; there was nothing there, nothing but pain. He felt himself losing his grip on sanity as it became unimportant.

The light in the heart of the TARDIS wrapped around him. It slowly traveled to his eyes, and he felt the power deserting him, abandoning him. He begged with it, pleaded, but he could not hold on. He couldn't focus around the pain.

And, as the seconds became lifetimes and eternity passed in moments, the light slowly began to vanish from inside his eyes. The suns died, returning once more to black holes, empty and horrible, desperate for the power they had just lost.

His eyes closed as the pain left him. The last sight he saw before the darkness claimed him was The Doctor, closing the TARDIS doors.

And then he remembered no more.

**A/N: There will only be one or two more chapters in this story. However, I plan on writing a sequel: "The Hearts of a Hero." I'm not sure whether to write for Ten (with no companion) or Eleven and Amy. Suggestions welcome... **


	9. Prisoner to Time

**A/N: Sorry for the late update!**

"Doctor, are you _ever _going to tell me what happened?"

The Doctor, having already thanked Peter and Matt and taken them back to their homes, was slowly walking around the TARDIS. Donna was becoming increasingly irritated with him, seeing as he refused to answer her questions.

"Sylar became a TARDIS, correct?" The Doctor looked up at her.

Donna nodded. "Right."

"After that, he captured you."

"Yes, I was there for that bit."

The Doctor ignored the sarcasm. "After _that, _he went back in time. A few days ago. Where he changed our DNA, so that it began to fluxuate so frequently that we started to shift out of the time stream itself."

Donna bit her lip, trying to keep up. "Right… And this is _after _I stabbed you, correct?"

"Aceamundo. He wiped our memories of the encounter, and I was sent to chase after Hiro, who ran away from me, thinking I was a monster." He paused, then explained, "Whenever we shift from one place to another in that manner, it's bound to leave a few minds temporarily scrambled."

"I see." Donna lied.

"He then traveled back to where he was keeping you."

"Then shouldn't our DNA still be shifting?"

The Doctor shook his head. "The effects wore off, eventually. That's what they were supposed to do. Our DNA is still in a bit of flux, but it should be back to normal within a day or two." He paused. "You might have a few… things change. A freckle or two that wasn't there before." He gestured to his hand, indicating a small spot on his palm. "Something. After all, it is your _DNA _that's changing. But it should go away after a while."

Donna tried to come to terms with this, then decided to change the subject. "Ok…so what happened… I mean… what did… what did Matt and Peter… _do _to Sylar?"

The Doctor's eyes darkened. "Ah. Yes." He sighed deeply.

"Matt Parkman and Peter Petrelli are both telepaths. Sylar, on the other hand, was not. And though he did gain a small amount of telepathy when he became a TARDIS, it didn't work entirely in his favor. Sylar was playing a dangerous game when he took the energy of a TARDIS into his almost-human mind. He nearly went insane. It didn't take much to turn his own telepathy- and, in effect his mind- against him.

"Matt and Peter took the information about how the TARDIS works forcibly from his mind. They made him forget. And once he forgot, the energy was too much for him to handle. So, no matter how badly he wanted to keep that power, his own body wouldn't allow it. He was forced to release it, and the TARDIS took it from him."

Donna realized then that she would probably never be able to understand what happened. Still, she tried, "So… he forgot everything, and since he wasn't able to understand it, he couldn't keep the ability?"

The Doctor nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

Donna paused for a moment, reflecting on this information. Finally, she said, "Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go home now?"

* * *

Since Donna was no longer in the TARDIS, and was visiting her grandfather, The Doctor decided it was time. There would really be no other chance; he was alone now, something that rarely happened.

He walked into the room, flicking on the light as he did so. A dark figure sat, hunched, on a bed. As soon as it saw the Doctor, it sat up straight, then stood.

Looking at the room, one wouldn't think it was a prison. It was nice enough, with a refrigerator that would never be empty, a water container that would act in a similar fashion, and a separate bathroom. The force field containing the room was completely invisible when nothing was touching it, but it was incredibly powerful.

The man inside regarded the Doctor calmly.

"You understand why I had to do this, don't you?" The Doctor asked. He never raised his voice. He talked, a normal person having a conversation with another normal person. Though the two of them were far from normal.

The other man didn't seem very angry. His voice was also soft. "Yes."

"And you understand that there was nothing else I could do?" The Doctor pressed.

"Yes."

There was silence for a moment.

"And that I gave you every chance I could afford to give you?" The Doctor finally asked.

"Yes."

Again, there was silence. It stretched on as the two lost themselves to their thoughts.

Finally, the prisoner spoke up.

"And you understand that I'm going to escape, correct?"

The Doctor studied the killer for a moment. His eyes penetrated through Sylar's defenses, but the other man did not back down. The Doctor saw every secret, every lie. He calculated every thought, every deception, every horrific crime.

He saw every question, every attempt for power, every chance, every opportunity the man had taken, every hope, every dream, every failure, every success. He saw every emotion, every calculation, every excuse the man had made for who and what he was.

He saw what Sylar thought of himself, what others thought of Sylar. He saw the killer and he saw the man who had come before the killer. He saw the hatred, the rage, the horror at what he was, the depression, the refusal to care.

He saw how he thought, every plan, how he planned it, his thoughts, his ideas, his very mind.

He saw how Sylar worked.

After an eternity that only lasted a second, the Doctor nodded, very slowly. "Yes…" He agreed. "Yes, I believe you will."

At that moment, it was nothing less than complete fact. Sylar would escape. One day, he would release himself from his prison, from his cage. He would come back and the Doctor would have to deal with him once more.

"But why?" The Doctor asked at last. For a moment, there was a note of horrible pain in his voice. He didn't _want _this for Sylar. He wanted Sylar to see what he was doing.

"Why?" Sylar didn't seem the least bit surprised by the question. "Because I need power."

And there it was. The simple, horrible, desperate truth.

Sylar did not _want _power. Sylar _needed _power.

"Let me help you." The Doctor whispered. "I could make it go away. I could fix it."

But even as he spoke the words, he knew that they would be rejected. This need for power had defined Sylar for so long, he wouldn't know who he was without it.

Still he hoped. Still he pleaded. Still he wished that Sylar would accept his assistance.

Sylar thought about it for a moment. "I don't think I _want _it to stop." He admitted. "This is what I know. This is who I am."

The Doctor said nothing, so Sylar continued.

"Don't you see, Doctor?" He asked quietly. "I used to be something… some_one _different. I didn't have this need for power, for abilities that weren't mine. I was… normal. Ordinary."

He stood tall, and electricity crackled around him. The bright blue was suddenly contrasted with the red of radioactive light. Objects began to move about the room, flying through the air. Ice spread across the floor. Sylar's eyes gleamed as his abilities showed themselves.

"Now, I'm _different. _I'm _special._"

His eyes locked on the Doctor's. "Tell me, Time Lord. How could I go back to being _nothing?_"

The Doctor looked at him sadly. "You just don't _get it_, do you?"

He stepped directly up to the force field, until his breath revealed a small patch of it. "You already_ were _special. You were brilliant. A simple, ordinary, _extraordinary _human being."

For a moment, Sylar said nothing.

"Please." The Doctor tried again. "Please, I can _help _you."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Sylar studied him carefully.

With only the faint, subtle memories he had from what the TARDIS knew of him, Sylar saw what made The Doctor into the Time Lord he was.

He saw why The Doctor tried so hard to help. He saw every emotion behind the action, every fear, every anger, every sadness, every pain.

He saw the Time War, in the view of one who had been there. He saw what it had made The Doctor. He saw the past, the present, the future, in the Time Lord's eyes. He saw every hope, every failure.

But he could never know as much of the Doctor as the Time Lord knew of Sylar.

"You know I will escape, correct?" He asked again.

It was all the answer that The Doctor needed. He sighed and turned to the door.

Darkness enveloped the room as The Doctor turned off the light behind him. He closed the door and walked back to the control room.

Sylar sat in the dark. He closed his eyes.

And he waited.

He waited for the day when he could escape. And he knew that he would wait forever if he had to. He would wait until the end of the universe itself if it was necessary.

Unseen by anyone, he smiled softly. While he waited, he would watch. He would observe the Doctor carefully, find his faults, his flaws. And he would use them against the Time Lord, in the end.

And, as Donna returned, the TARDIS flew back into the vortex. Its prisoner waited, listening, watching, planning.

In the control room, The Doctor felt a shiver run down his spine. Sylar would escape, one day.

But not today.

He felt a familiar grin cross his face as he pulled a seemingly random lever. The TARDIS lurched, sending him and Donna to the ground.

He sprung to his feet, laughing. "Come on, Donna!"

She allowed him to help her to her feet, laughing with him.

"New worlds to see!" The Doctor continued. "And tea! Lots and lots of tea!" He brightened up. "I know! I promised you a trip to Reklon IV, didn't I?" His finger stabbed at a button. "Best tea in the known universe, along with half of the unknown!"

Donna laughed again. "Sounds good to me!"

And the two set out once more, racing off to the stars.

**A/N: Like I said before, there will be a sequel to this, called "The Hearts of a Hero". Thank you for reading! Hope you all enjoyed it!**


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